When the patriarch of the Inugami family dies, his children, other family members, and hangers-on gather for the will reading. It stipulates that all of his family must be there before it is read. Everybody is there save one grandson. He’s been gone since the war (the film is set in the late 1940s). Soon enough, his mother appears with him in tow. Or at least she says he is. The man has his entire head covered with a cloth. Some others question whether or not it is really him and force him to take off the cloth. Underneath, he’s wearing a rubber mask. He was badly burned during the war, his mother says. Well, everybody figures that’s good enough for them.
Buy The Inugami FamilyThe will gives the family’s vast fortune and company holdings to Tamayo (Yôko Shimada), a woman who is not related to the family by either blood or marriage, but whom the patriarch was quite fond. But the will also states that she must marry one of his three grandsons. If she does not, then she gets nothing. The family is outraged, but there is nothing they can do. The three daughters begin scheming, trying to find ways to force Tamayo into marrying their son.
Then the murders begin. Someone is stabbed in the back with a pair of shears. Another person is beheaded. The police are useless in determining who did it. Luckily, Kosuke Kindaichi (Kōji Ishizaka), a private detective, is on the case. He was asked to be there for the reading. He’s a bit of a country bumpkin. He often scratches his long, shaggy hair, dropping dandruff as he does so. He’s constantly forgetting to take off his shoes when he enters the house, leaving a trail of mud behind. His appearance is disheveled. But he’s got a brilliant intellect, and nothing seems to get by him.
Based on a novel by Seishi Yokomizo, The Inugami Family is but one of some 77 stories Yokomizo wrote starring Kosuke Kindaichi. They say he is Japan’s most popular fictional detective. Director Kon Ichikawa would go on to make six other films based on those books (five of them star Kōji Ishizaka as the detective, and the last film he ever made is a remake of this film).
The plotting is rather labyrinthine. It is very reminiscent of any number of Agatha Christie stories. And while I couldn’t find any information online verifying this, it seems impossible that Rian Johnson didn’t watch this movie before making Knives Out.
There were definitely times when I had trouble following exactly what was going on, and I lost track of which actor was playing which character and who they were in relation to the others. At some point, another masked man shows up. One of the sons tries to rape Tamayo because, I guess, that would somehow make her have to marry him. More dead bodies pile up. There are twists within twists.
With a two-and-a-half-hour runtime, it’s just a little bit too long, and it’s maybe a tad too complicated for its own good, but for the most part I loved it. Ishizaka is terrific as the detective. His shaggy appearance makes everyone underestimate him. He’s also not one of those flashy detectives that makes a big production of solving the crime. He mostly stays in the background, slowly sussing out what happened. Yôko Shimada is also excellent as Tamayo. She’s a slippery character. There are times when it appears she’s the culprit, and other times she seems to be the heroine of our story. It is an enigmatic performance and one with a lot of heart.
The story is set in a large mansion in some beautiful countryside surrounded by trees and a lovely lake. The film makes great use of the setting, twisting its camera amongst the numerous rooms of the house and giving us some gorgeous views of nature.
I really enjoyed watching this film, and I’m already trying to find copies of the other films in this series.
Radiance Films has given The Inugami Family a gorgeous and warm new transfer. Extras include the following:
- Newly filmed interview with Aaron Gerow on the film’s impact in Japan (2026)
- Secrets of Kon Ichikawa’s Visual Style – archival documentary (44 min)
- Outtakes from Secrets of Kon Ichikawa’s Visual Style (8 min)
- Archival making-of documentary, featuring interviews with director Kon Ichikawa, star Koji Ishizaka and editor Chizuko Osada (30 min)
- Archival interview with star Koji Ishizaka (16 min)
- Archival documentary on the 4K restoration process (12 min)
- Trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Yuka Kimbara
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
The Inugami Family is a wonderful introduction to one of Japan’s defining fictional detectives. Radiance presents the film with a nice transfer and some wonderful special features designed to really give you insight into the film.
